Thank you God
For rescuing me again
My soul out of joint
Befuddled
Tormented
By the very room around me
Yet here also you are God
You heard my cry
You came
You rescued my soul
You are a great warrior oh God
Not merely strong, but spirited
Pwnage with panache
That’s your style
Strength and subtlety
Who can stand against you God?
No one is like You
Chapter 1
This is a discussion of the attitude to be taken towards reason as well as a discussion of distraction. Screwtape tells Wormwood not to try to use reason, science, or argument to keep his patient from Christianity. Rather, he keeps him in a general fog and focused on the immediate stream of sense experiences. Quite telling is the anecdote about the atheist who was almost turned by what he read but was successfully kept away by distracting him with lunch and then the many sights and sounds of the street.
Conclusions: Be ready for an attack of this sort. When you are wrestling with something, don’t give in to the impulse to go take a break and do some other random thing, because in all probability this is an attempt to distract you.
Chapter 2
The patient has become a Christian. Screwtape remains hopeful, however, on several grounds. The major areas he suggests using/attacking are the habits of the patient, both mental and physical (which are still flowing in the old way), and the church and his conceptions of it. One of his greatest tools is the appearance/manner of the other church members, which is enhanced by the vices of these people. The whole idea is to disappoint the patient by presenting a much more banal world than the one we dream of when we are thinking of undertaking something significant
Screwtape also mentions that the patient still thinks he is a pretty good guy, despite his declarations of his own sin. Pride certainly opens the door to the enemy.
There is also a discussion of how God wants us to choose and love Him freely, hence He allows us to make choices and experience their consequences, as well as refusing to carry us.
Conclusions: This illustrates the importance of taking every thought captive and relying on His grace to carry us through times when He doesn’t seem near and we have to fight hard against the traitor within. Also, beware of pride.
Chapter 3
This is a series of instructions on how to exploit a strained relationship. In this case, the patient doesn’t always get along particularly well with his mother. Screwtape advises Wormwood to exploit this in several ways. His first piece of advice is to ensure the patient keeps his mind on the inner life, rather than the everyday, by exploiting humans’ horror of the obvious and everyday. This will keep the patient blind to the faults that anyone who lives and works with him could easily point out. Second, Screwtape describes a way to neutralize the patient’s prayers for his mother by ensuring that he keeps his mind and prayers on her soul (and supposed sins, the idea of which can be twisted so that sin = anything that bothers him) rather than her physical ailments. In this way, it can be ensured that the person the patient prays for is a mental conception that bears little resemblance to his mother, to the degree that nothing in his prayers will ever influence his treatment of the real mother. Third, Screwtape advises Wormwood to work with the mother’s tempter and establish a massive double standard for everyday exchange and offense between the patient and his mother. Additionally, he asks about whether or not the patient’s mother is a bit piqued by the fact that her son was taught and converted by others although she tried to teach him when he was younger.
Conclusions: We are commanded to love our neighbors as ourselves. Thus, we should be on guard against an attack like this. We should examine our hearts carefully, especially when someone annoys us and we’re tempted to play the victim.
